Category Archives: Shellfish

The historic town of Port Gamble is about to get a new-fangled
sewage-treatment plant, one that will allow highly treated effluent
to recharge the groundwater in North Kitsap.

The old treatment plant discharges its effluent into Hood Canal,
causing the closure of about 90 acres of shellfish beds. After the
new plant is in operation, those shellfish beds are likely to be
reopened, officials say.

The new facility will be built and operated by Kitsap Public Utility
District, which owns and manages small water systems throughout
the county. The Port Gamble plant will be the first wastewater
operation to be managed by the KPUD, which views the project as a
step toward reclaiming more of Kitsap County’s wastewater by
putting it to beneficial use, said manager Bob Hunter.

The PUD already manages the Port Gamble water system, which will
undergo a future renovation, he said. Dealing with the community’s
sewage is the next logical step.

“Nobody can do reclaimed water without the sewage-treatment part
of the equation,” Bob told me, “and it seems potentially more
efficient to have one entity do it.”

In a related development, the district is expected to ask Kitsap
County voters for authority to own the plant as well as operate it.
Under its current authority, the district can own water utilities
but not sewer utilities.

A $2-million state grant to eliminate the discharge of sewage
into Hood Canal requires that a public entity own the sewer system.
To comply with that requirement, Mason County PUD 1 will take over
ownership until Kitsap PUD obtains the needed authority, Bob
noted.

The KPUD commissioners are expected to decide on Tuesday whether
to place a measure on November’s ballot. Hunter said he doesn’t
expect opposition, but he hopes to address any concerns people may
have. The commissioners meet at 9:30 a.m. in their Poulsbo
office.

The new treatment plant will be a membrane bioreactor, a type of
filtering system capable of producing effluent close to the quality
of drinking water. The plant, which comes assembled, will treat up
to 100,000 gallons of sewage per day. That’s enough capacity to
serve the existing homes in Port Gamble. And if the town’s
redevelopment is approved
(Kitsap Sun, Jan. 24, 2013), as proposed by owner Pope
Resources, the plant could serve up to 350 homes — provided the old
sewer pipes are replaced to reduce the amount of stormwater that
leaks in.

The plant will be located on 1.3 acres near Carver Drive, south
of Highway 104. Effluent will be pumped to a new drainfield at the
top of a nearby hill. Eventually, water from the plant could be
used to irrigate forestland or else lawns and ballfields in the
town.

Construction is expected to get underway soon, with the system
operational by May of next year. The entire project, including the
treatment plant, pumping system, pipes, drainfield and site work,
is expected to cost $5 million with most of the cost paid by Pope
Resources.

The KPUD has no plans to operate other sewer systems at this
time, Hunter said, but the district hopes to be in a position to
respond to community needs, as it as done with failing water
systems. Small sewage-treatment plants could be feasible where a
lot of septic systems are failing, he noted, but state law
precludes the use of sewers in rural areas except during a health
emergency. Even then, the systems must serve only existing needs,
not future growth, he noted.

Without snowpack, Kitsap Peninsula is entirely dependent on the
amount of rain that falls on the peninsula. With limited storage,
future water supplies can be bolstered by recharging the
groundwater with high-quality sewage effluent or by using effluent
to replace drinking water used for irrigation and industrial
processes.

The Central Kitsap Wastewater Treatment Plant, which produces an
average 3.2 million gallons of water each day, is undergoing a
major upgrade to produce water that can be used for a variety of
uses in nearby Silverdale. In preparation, Silverdale Water
District has been installing a new piping network to bring the
reclaimed water into the community.

“We have been talking for a long time about getting water into
the ground instead of dumping it into Puget Sound or Hood Canal,”
said Bob Hunter. “With this project in Port Gamble, we can learn
and be prepared when other situations come along.”

In a new video, Dayv Lowry of the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife does a great job explaining how scientific trawling
provides information about the kinds of creatures that hang out on
the bottom of Puget Sound.

The video shows a big net being brought to the surface filled
with crabs and all sorts of strange creatures, which are then
sorted and measured right on the deck of the Chasina. This
research, which has been going on for years, provides information
about how populations of marine species are changing over time.

Two years ago, I joined Dayv and his crew aboard the same
trawler while working on the Kitsap Sun series “Taking
the Pulse of Puget Sound.” With most of the attention focused
on salmon, I thought it was important to highlight lesser-known
fish that play a key role in the Puget Sound ecosystem.

I hate to say it, but one reason that many marine fish get short
shrift, compared to salmon, is that they are not as commercially
valuable — but that does not mean they are not important.

Overfishing, combined with degraded habitat conditions and
pollution caused many of these species to decline through the
years. Three species of rockfish are now federally protected under
the Endangered Species Act. For a recent update on rockfish, check
out
Water Ways from June 18.

It is encouraging to know that forage fish, including herring,
will receive increased scrutiny with a $1.9-million boost from the
Legislature, allowing studies on population, habitat and viability.
Reporter Tristan Baurick wrote about this new appropriation in
Tuesday’s Kitsap Sun. The money should allow researchers to
provide a nice status report, and I hope money will be available
for ongoing monitoring into the future.

As for those species of fish caught by trawling, it’s time to
figure out what role they play in the Puget Sound food web and what
it will take to improve their conditions.

During the 1970s, new-fangled fish-finders and commercial
fishing gear allowed for more intense fishing than ever before.
State resource managers made a critical mistake in assuming that
because fishing was going well, populations of bottom fish must be
doing OK. Managing fishing using a steady-state fishing rate
without adequate monitoring has been the downfall of fish
populations throughout the world.

In Puget Sound, “the first sign of a problem came when there
were no fish,” Dayv told me, only slightly exaggerating the
problem.

Now the effort is to rebuild the populations, and it will likely
take more than a trawler to understand where certain species reside
and what is posing the greatest threat to recovery. Surveys using
remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, have become an important tool,
shedding light on fish living in shallow water and rocky areas
where the trawler cannot go.

One thing that is still needed, however, is a map of the various
types of underwater habitat throughout Puget Sound. Knowing the
locations and extent of rocky versus sandy or muddy bottoms could
provide a basis for estimating entire populations of marine
species. Researchers are working on a computer model to do just
that, but more underwater surveys are needed.

If residents of this unique region hope to restore Puget Sound
to health, we must not forget about the bottom fish, which for many
people tend to be out of sight and out of mind.

Hood Canal Coordinating Council is made up of county
commissioners from Kitsap, Mason and Jefferson counties, along with
leaders from the Skokomish and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes.

When planning efforts began five years ago, the idea was to
create an “integrated” plan that would recognize all the ecological
functions taking place in the Hood Canal watershed and create a set
of strategies for addressing all the various problems.

The effort got off to a good start by identifying many of the
problems, ranging from declining fish populations to fragmented
upland habitats. But the complexity of those problems, the
variability of conditions and the numerous agencies responsible for
data and decisions eventually overwhelmed the planners. It was as
if they were trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle containing a
million pieces.

The coordinating council decided to refocus the effort on issues
that are under its purview while maintaining the long-term vision
of a sustainable Hood Canal ecosystem that benefits humans in a
variety of ways.

“Ideally, we will eventually get to all the issues,” said Scott
Brewer, the council’s executive director. “The board decided it
wanted to focus on something that would be the first strategic
priorities and then pick up the other things over time.”

In this context, the plan identifies five focal components:

Shellfish,

Commercial shellfish harvesting,

Forests,

Forestry, and

Salmon.

Also, four major “pressures” are called out for special
attention:

Commercial and residential development,

Transportation and service corridors,

Climate change and ocean acidification, and

Wastewater discharges and stormwater runoff.

These are issues that the county and tribal leaders were already
addressing in one way or another, either through local actions or
through the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, which is recognized
under state law.

The new website OurHoodCanal.org highlights the connections
between human well-being and natural resources. The first findings
focus on three natural resource indicators — one each for
shellfish, forests and salmon — plus five indicators for human well
being — positive emotions, communication, traditional resource
practices, communities, natural resource industries and access to
local food.

A survey
last year, for example, showed that Hood Canal generates
positive emotions (at least most of the time) for the vast majority
of respondents, yet most Hood Canal residents say they don’t often
work together to manage resources, prepare cultural events or solve
community challenges.

“This is a work in progress,” Scott said about the planning
effort and related website. “We can start by telling a really good
story about what is happening in Hood Canal, then going on to make
connections and asking whether we are doing the right things.”

The first strategies identified in the plan involve:

Working together on local land-use planning,

Identifying failing septic systems and other sources of
bacterial pollution,

Continuing projects to restore healthy runs of salmon,

Furthering a mitigation program to fully compensate for the
effects of development,

Finding ways to adapt to climate change, and

Developing a regional plan to reduce stormwater problems.

Meanwhile, the coordinating council has developed a new ranking
system for setting priorities for salmon restoration. Refinements
will come later, Scott said, but the system is currently being used
to identify restoration projects to be proposed for funding later
this year.

Under the Salmon
Recovery Prioritization (see “guidance” document) projects will
be given more consideration if they help highly rated salmon
stocks, such as fall chinook in the Skokomish River, summer chum in
the Big Quilcene and so on. Projects are given points for
addressing specific habitat types and restoration actions deemed to
be the most important.

If successful, this approach will result in funding the most
important restoration projects, as determined through a more
precise ranking process than ever used before, although it does
leave room for judgment calls.

While the Hood Canal Coordinating Council works on projects in
Hood Canal, other groups continue with similar efforts in other
watersheds.

“Everyone is prioritizing one way or another,” Scott told me,
“but they haven’t looked at it like we have.”

Scott said agencies and organizations that grant money for
salmon recovery or ecosystem restoration could call for an improved
ranking process throughout Puget Sound.

“A lot of money gets spread everywhere,” he noted, “but there
are some key spots throughout Puget Sound that need it more than
others.”

These are the days of near-perfect growing conditions for plants
in Western Washington. If you are battling noxious weeds, it might
seem as if the weather is working against you, favoring these
destructive invaders along with other plants.

But one team of weed warriors, hoping to eradicate an invasive
plant called spartina, sees this growing season another way.
Instead of hindering the eradication effort, this rapid growth of
spartina — also known as cordgrass — makes it easier to locate and
eliminate the last of the invaders.

“The bad thing is you get a lot more plants than you expect,”
said Chad Phillips, spartina coordinator for the Washington State
Department of Agriculture. “The good thing is that a lot of the
plants you might not have seen (in a normal year) have germinated,
so you can get rid of them.”

Over the past 12 years, the total estimated acreage occupied by
spartina in Washington state has been reduced from 9,000 acres to
just eight acres. It has been a coordinated effort involving local,
state and federal agencies; tribal governments; universities;
private landowners; and many volunteers.

The search-and-destroy mission will continue, because the plants
have a way of coming back, sometimes showing up in new
locations.

Left unchecked, spartina spreads rapidly, crowding out native
vegetation while converting ecologically important mudflats into
meadows choked with a hardy marsh grass. Besides wrecking shellfish
beds, spartina wipes out shoreline habitat for shorebirds and
waterfowl while increasing the risk of flooding, experts say.

Those involved in the spartina effort this year are expected to
look for spartina plants — and eliminate any they find — over more
than 80,000 acres of saltwater estuaries and 1,000 miles of
shoreline in 12 counties.

After working for years in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor,
spartina crews turned their focus last year to Puget Sound, where
about 90 percent of the remaining spartina-infested acreage can be
found. The map on this page uses black triangles to depict areas
where spartina has been eradicated.

When crews go into an area, they remove all the plants they can
find. Individual plants or clusters of plants can be dug by hand,
whereas larger infestations may be treated with herbicide.

Crews typically return to a given site twice in a year. A site
is considered eradicated if no plants are seen for at least three
years with a minimum of six surveys. After that, they will
typically return once a year to make sure the plants don’t come
back.

The crews are scheduled to visit every shoreline at least once
every five years to look for any new infestations of spartina.

The workers obtain permission from property owners before
removing or killing plants. But often the neighbors are unaware of
what they are doing. Chad said it is not unusual for neighbors to
approach crew members to ask why they are there. Sometimes, the
crews are suspected of being shellfish poachers.

“If you see us working, feel free to come over and say ‘hi,’”
Chad said. “We’ll be on a beach in knee boots with a shovel.”

In Kitsap County, the largest infestation has been at
Doe-Kag-Wats, an estuary on the Port Madison Indian Reservation
north of Indianola in North Kitsap. After years of removing
truckloads of vegetation, the total infestation there was down to
61 square feet last year.

Another infested area has been Foulweather Bluff near Hansville,
where 24 square feet of spartina were removed.

Areas considered active because of recent infestations but where
no plants were found last year are Manzanita Bay on Bainbridge
Island and Coon Bay near Manchester.

Mason and Thurston are the only counties that have never had an
infestation, but beaches in those counties remain part of the
ongoing five-year survey cycle.

In Puget Sound, most of the spartina found has been identified
as the species Spartina anglica, or common cordgrass. This
species was introduced to Snohomish County in 1961. The largest
infestation in the state today is an area in South Skagit Bay and
Port Susan near Stanwood.

Bays on the Pacific Ocean contain primarily Spartina
alterniflora, known as smooth cordgrass or saltmarsh
cordgrass. It was introduced to Willapa Bay in the late 1800s,
eventually spreading to 8,500 acres. Since 2003, about 99.9 percent
of that spartina acreage has been killed or removed, making it one
of the largest eradications of an invasive species anywhere in the
country.

Spartina patens, known as saltmeadow cordgrass or salt
marsh hay, is a native of the Atlantic Coast. It was discovered in
the 1990s at Dosewallips State Park on Hood Canal. Dosewallips held
the only known infestation of S. patens in Washington
state until 2013, when a survey crew found the plant on Navy
property on the Toandos Peninsula across from the Bangor submarine
base. After receiving permission, the site was treated in 2014.
Ongoing efforts will be necessary, as the invasive plant blends in
well with native marsh plants.

Starfish that live symbiotically inside a tube sponge were long
believed to assist the sponge with its cleaning activities, while
the starfish received a protective home for being such a helpful
companion. This type of mutually beneficial symbiosis is called
“mutualism.”

But this long-held assumption — that both the brittlestar and
gray tube sponge were benefitting from the deal — turned out to be
wrong when researchers took a close look at the relationship.

The video describing this whole affair and the research behind
it became a finalist in the Ocean 180 Video Challenge, judged by
37,795 students in 1,600 classrooms in 21 countries. Ocean 180 is
all about connecting science to people, and the video challenge is
designed to help scientists turn their discoveries into
stories.

I really like the concept of this contest. Joseph Pawlik, one of
the researchers involved, did a good job telling the story of the
starfish and the sponge in the video production, assisted by Jack
Koch of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. They called
the video “The maid did it! The surprising case of the
sponge-cleaning brittlestar.”

I won’t give away who killed whom, but answers to the murder
mystery are revealed toward the end of the 3-minute video.

A much more extensive research project involves monitoring the
largest active volcano off the coast of Oregon, a location called
Axial Seamount. University of Washington researchers and students
conducted the research and produced the video about the equipment
used in an extreme environment and how the data are transmitted
back to land via a fiber optic cable.

While the videos of the starfish-and-sponge and offshore volcano
were among the top 10 finalists, neither were among the top award
winners.

First-place winner Kelly Jaakkola of the Dolphin Research Center
said Ocean 180 is a way to make a connection with the next
generation of ocean scientists:

“For a lot of students, science can have a negative, scary
image. They picture people in white lab coats talking about topics
that nobody understands in the most boring, unimaginative way
possible. If we want to get kids excited about science, we need to
change that image.”

Third-place winner Charles Waters said some of the most
inspiring science writing uses analogies, metaphors and similes to
describe the scientific process and research findings:

“Video helps lift images from print, and the message comes
closer to being an experience for the audience in contrast to a
mere information stream.”

A highly informative map, just released by state shellfish
officials, can show you at a glance where it is safe to harvest
shellfish in Western Washington.

Besides pointing out the locations of public beaches where
recreational harvesters may safely gather clams and oysters, the
new
map provides links to information about the approved
seasons and limits, with photographs of each beach. One can choose
“map” or “satellite” views, as well as enhanced images to simplify
the search.

If you wish, you can track down locations by searching for the
name of a beach, nearby landmarks or the address. You can obtain
the latest information about entire shorelines as well as specific
beaches.

The map was created by the Office of Shellfish and Water
Protection, a division within the Washington State Department of
Health.

Jim Zimny, recreational shellfish specialist at Kitsap Public
Health District, said he expects the map to be updated immediately
when new health advisories are issued.

“It’s a great resource, very easy to use,” Jim said.

Jim works with state shellfish officials to collect shellfish
samples and report results, including findings of paralytic
shellfish poison, a biotoxin. Closures are announced when high
levels of PSP or dangerous bacteria are found. Hood Canal, for
example, is covered with the letter “V,” meaning one should cook
shellfish thoroughly to kill Vibrio bacteria, which can lead to
intestinal illness.

Since I generally write the geographic descriptions of shellfish
closure areas, I can assure you that looking at a map will be a
better way to see what is going on.

A news release about the new map points out that
the risk of eating shellfish increases in summer. That’s why it
especially important in summer to follow the three C’s of shellfish
safety: “check, chill and cook.”

Those three C’s refer to checking the map for health closures
and looking on the beach for warning signs; chilling the shellfish
to avoid a buildup of bacteria; and cooking to 145 degrees to kill
pathogens. (Cooking does not destroy PSP and other biotoxins, so
it’s important to avoid closed areas.)

This year is the 50th anniversary of Alvin, a deep-sea vehicle
that has made some incredible scientific discoveries over the past
half-century.

The latest issue of Oceanus magazine is a special edition that
takes us through the history of Alvin, including its part in
locating a lost hydrogen bomb, investigating the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill and documenting the remains of the Titanic.

What really drew my attention to this issue is a photo feature
called “Alvin’s
Animals.” It was posted as a slide show in the online version
of Oceanus. It registered high on my amusing meter, and I encourage
you to click through the buttons that take you from one odd-looking
creature to the next.

One of Alvin’s most significant discoveries came in 1977, when
the submersible traveled to the Galapagos Rift, a deep-water area
where volcanic activity had been detected. Scientists had
speculated that steaming underwater vents were releasing chemicals
into the ocean water. They got to see that, but what they
discovered was much more: a collection of unique clams, worms and
mussels thriving without sunlight.

These were lifeforms in which bacteria played a central role at
the base of a food web that derives its energy from chemicals and
not photosynthesis.

Since then, other deep-sea communities have been discovered and
documented throughout the world, with hundreds of new species
examined and named.

The Oceanus article also describes in some detail the
just-completed renovation that has given Alvin new capabilities.
The people responsible for various aspects of the make-over are
interviewed in this special edition.

The first video on this page is by Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution celebrating Alvin’s 50th birthday. The second is a
walk-around the newly renovated craft by Jim Motavalli, who usually
writes about ecologically friendly automobiles.

UPDATE, June 11, 2014
Jeromy Sullivan, chairman of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, wrote
a tribute to Billy Frank that is worth reading. Jeromy mentions
three admirable attributes of Billy Frank and gives examples of
each. They are words to live by.

Stand up for what you believe in … even when no one else
will.

Treat people with respect even if you’re on opposite
sides.

It’s the big and small things that make your community a better
place.

The affection and admiration expressed for Billy Frank Jr. has
been somewhat overwhelming in recent days. I thought it would be
nice to pull together some of the tributes — including the memorial
service — that talk about this man who was an irrepressible voice
for salmon recovery, environmental restoration and Native American
rights.

Billy, 83, a member of the Nisqually Tribe and chairman of the
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, died last Monday, May 5, at
his home. As I said in
Water Ways last Tuesday, I believe Billy will remain an
unforgetable force.

An estimated 6,000 people attended his memorial service Sunday
at the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Skookum Creek Event Center, located
at Little Creek Casino Resort near Shelton.

The service was recorded by Squaxin Streams and posted on the
Livestream website, which is the video player on this page.

Billy Frank’s own words, “Nobody can replace my life,” speak of
the changes from one generation to the next. Billy knew as well as
anyone that we can’t go back, but he asked people to help determine
a better environmental future. Secretary
of State Legacy Project.

1. Billy's own words

Tributes, statements, news

William D. Ruckelshaus, former chairman of the Puget Sound
Partnership’s Leadership Council, of which Billy was a member.
Published in Crosscut, May 8.

Martha Kongsgaard, current chairwoman of the Puget Sound
Partnership’s Leadership Council. Published on the partnership’s
website, May 6.

Always gracious and enthusiastic, Billy would take my calls at
just about any time of day, sometimes between conferences in
Washington, D.C. He was willing to talk about anything, from
environmental problems to court rulings. You name it.

Usually, he was not the best person to discuss the rigorous
details I might need for a story. He left that to others. But one
could always count on Billy to passionately expound upon the needs
of salmon and how a particular policy or legal agreement would
further the cause.

At 83 years old, Billy had watched the rapid rise of modern
development and the sad decline of salmon populations throughout
Puget Sound. He was at the center of the battle to restore tribal
treaty rights and claim a place at the table where decisions are
made regarding natural resource policies.

It didn’t matter to Billy if you were a concerned citizen, a
U.S. senator or the president himself. He would greet people with a
hug and thank them for their efforts. During his off-the-cuff
speeches, he would urge everyone to keep working together, no
matter what conflicts needed to be overcome.

Billy, chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission,
was in Kitsap County — Suquamish to be specific — 10 days ago to
meet with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. Kitsap Sun reporter
Rachel Seymour heard him address the issue of salmon hatcheries.
See
Kitsap Sun, April 24 (subscription).

“Our hatcheries are under attack,” he said, saying that Puget
Sound had become “poison” to the salmon. “The hatcheries are there
because the habitats are gone. Big business says it costs too much
to have clean water.”

That was classic Billy Frank, shooting straight into the heart
of the matter.

I knew Billy on a professional level, but he had this rare trait
for making everyone feel like a friend. Of all the stories I wrote,
Billy was particularly pleased that I kept following the culvert
lawsuit years after it seemed forgotten by most people — even the
judge. In that case, the court ruled that Washington state has a
duty under the treaties to fix highway culverts that impede the
passage of salmon.

Billy appeared comfortable in most settings. He would plead and
demand, calling on people to do the right thing, his speech
peppered with occasional profanity. He was easily excited at
reports of progress, but always disappointed at the extremely slow
pace of ecosystem recovery.

His vision was to restore salmon populations to some semblance
of their glory when people could still make a living from the
bounty of nature. Without thinking, I always believed that Billy
would be around to see his vision fulfilled, no matter how long it
took.

“Billy assured us that he would be here for at least another
decade — he had so much work to do,” Martha wrote in a thoughtful
tribute to Billy. “He mentioned that his father lived to be 104 and
his mother 96 and that he hoped to split the difference. He was on
fire, naming names, calling us all to the cause, to come together.
He was as powerful as any in the room had ever heard him.”

As was his habit, Billy got up Monday and got dressed after his
shower. He sat down on his bed and didn’t get back up. His son
Willie found him a short time later.

It will be up to others to continue the fight to protect and
restore salmon to Puget Sound. We can be sure that there will never
be another Billy Frank. But those who knew him or heard him speak
can still be empowered by the indomitable passion that made him
such an unforgettable force.

Washington state now has an official state oyster, thanks to the
lobbying efforts of 14-year-old Claire Thompson, who raised the
prominence of the Olympia oyster as part as a school project.
That’s assuming, of course, that the governor signs the bill.

The bill designating Ostrea lurida as the state oyster first
passed the Senate Feb. 13 on a 47-1 vote. It was approved March 5
in the House, 94-4, after an amendment expanded the language of the
bill to this:

“This native oyster species plays an important role in the
history and culture that surrounds shellfish in Washington state
and along the west coast of the United States. Some of the common
and historic names used for this species are Native, Western,
Shoalwater, and Olympia.”

The Senate then agreed to the amendment and passed the bill into
law today, again on a 47-1 vote. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican
from Spokane, was the only dissenting voice in the Senate.

Opponents in the House were Reps. Richard DeBolt, Chehalis; Brad
Klippert, Kennewick; Jason Overstreet, Lynden; and Rep. Elizabeth
Scott, Monroe. All are Republicans.

When Claire testified on the Senate bill in the House Government
Operations and Elections Committee, she looked toward the future.
When she testified on the earlier House version, she was looking to
the past. You can hear her testimony in the viewer on this page, or
at
56:40 on TVW.

Here’s what she said, in part, to the House committee:

“The last time I came to testify I talked about the history of
this oyster. This time I would like to talk to you about what I
hope is the future of this oyster…

“I am only 14 and most of my life still lies ahead. To make my
future and the futures of all the kids who live around Puget Sound
better, I would like you to not only pass this bill but get as many
of these and other bivalves seeded and into the Puget Sound as
quickly as possible. This is because these oysters filter the water
and can help regulate harmful algal blooms, including the red tide.
By keeping algae down, they increase the overall oxygen content for
fish and crustaceans and all the other animals.

“In the large numbers that Puget Sound needs, these oysters can
link together to build coral-reef-like structures that provide an
ecosystem habitat of room and hiding for young sea animals and all
the kelps and sea plants that we are losing… Oyster beds this thick
keep sediments anchored and the entire Puget Sound in balance.”